The present invention relates to vehicle wheel assemblies, and particularly to such assemblies which are provided with protection against excessive pressure in the vehicle tire.
Vehicle tires are designed to be pressurized at a predetermined air pressure according to the type of vehicle. Thus, the optimum pressure of the vehicle tire may range from about 26 PSI for passenger vehicles, up to about 125 PSI for heavy trucks. Air pressure pumps provided in service stations for adding pressurized air to a vehicle tire are therefore generally capable of pressurizing the tire well over 125 PSI.
Such air pressure pumps frequently include pressure meters which indicate the pressure of the vehicle tire being inflated, but generally include presettable pressure limiters which enable the user to preset the maximum pressures to be applied to the tire. However, if such a pressure limiter should malfunction, a very dangerous situation can be created where a vehicle tire, designed for e.g., 26 PSI, may be filled to a pressure of over 100 PSI. This may result in the bursting of the tire which can cause very serious injury to the person filling the tire particularly since the person's head is generally close to the tire being filled. In fact, there have been a number of cases of tire bursting resulting in serious injury, or even death, to the person filling the tire.